


To Knight the Knight

by bakedgarnet



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F, Post Mission, pearl is always trying to save the day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-08
Updated: 2016-12-08
Packaged: 2018-09-07 08:30:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8790736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bakedgarnet/pseuds/bakedgarnet
Summary: Tumblr prompt: Garnet doesn't always take off her visor when they're alone, but Pearl knows that when she does, she has something important to say.





	

Garnet doesn’t always take off her visor when they’re alone, but Pearl knows that when she does, she has something important to say.

 

So this was to be expected, she thinks, because her gem had been within an inch of becoming a shattered mess of iridescent chunks on the sand, and Garnet was _not_ happy.

 

All three of Garnet’s tri-colored eyes were engulfed in some emotion Pearl had never witnessed from their owner before. They shone with a mixture of rage and sadness and worry that had never been afforded to a Pearl back on Homeword, and generally not from anybody here on Earth.

 

“ _You can_ **_not_ ** _throw yourself in harm’s way like that!_ You were almost _shattered_ , Pearl! _I saw it!_ Why’s it _so hard_ for you to believe me when I tell you I’ve got something handled?” Garnet’s voice started off at a yell and ended much the same, causing Pearl to shrink under her words and frantic gaze.

 

She absently stood on her toes out of little more than habit as her hands pulled at each other at the base of her stomach. The fleeting feeling of gratefulness that Steven was with Connie during the entire ordeal  passed just as soon as it came. Amethyst was holed up in her room somewhere, likely having retreated to her kingdom of junk after their mission to avoid the fallout that was currently taking place in Steven’s living room.

 

“You _said_ that you had it, but that— that _thing_ was nearly right on top of you! I had to do _something_!” Pearl defended herself, but realized the attempt was futile when Garnet took a powerful step toward her that she automatically stepped back from.

 

“Your best reaction was to hurl yourself in front of a blow you _knew_ I could have taken? One that could have—” Garnet stopped suddenly, as if she couldn’t even say the words.

 

_That could have killed you._

 

Her third eye closed tightly against what must have been an onslaught of new futures branching off into who knew where depending on what she said next. The blue and red ones trained on her, though, were unwavering in the intensity of emotions displayed.

 

Garnet’s gloved hands slowly reached forward, giving Pearl time to withdraw if she wanted, and eventually cupped her cheeks. Her thumbs caressed Pearl’s face for a long moment, as if she were debating on exactly what to say. Knowing Garnet, she was likely weighing every possible outcome before she continued.

 

“I _can_ _not_ lose you, too.”

 

Pearl’s eyes went round at the confession, and she looked back and forth between Garnet’s rarely seen eyes. Her long-time suspicion that her best friend kept them hidden purely because of how expressive they were was slowly revealing itself to be true. Every ounce of pain and sadness and anger leaked through with a transparency that nearly startled Pearl for how little she witnessed it.

 

She never realized, she thought later on, how much she meant to Garnet until that very moment.  

 

“I refuse to lose Rose _and_ you. If you think for _one second_ that your existence, that your _presence_ is some easily replaceable thing, you’re wrong. This team needs you, Pearl. _I_ need you…  possibly more than anyone.” The last few words were spoken so softly, so sincerely, that Pearl felt the crushing guilt of her earlier actions rise within her like a wave.  

 

Garnet’s hands left her hair raised a bit in the air with static once they pulled away, and then her visor was back in place with a flash of light motes and a flick of her hand.

 

Pearl hadn’t intended to scare anyone; she was merely doing what any great knight would— shielding her love from harm.

 

It was becoming increasingly clear that the same habits she held with Rose should have died alongside their late leader.

 

Garnet was _not_ Rose, and yet Pearl didn’t think she could be more relieved.

 

For the first time, _she_ was being shielded from harm, too, because Garnet loved her in return.

 

And though she was still learning, Pearl was liking mutual love much more than unrequited love with each day that passed.

**Author's Note:**

> Many thanks for the prompt, harinezumiko on tumblr! 
> 
> Feel free to come talk to me on tumblr: bakedgarnet.tumblr.com or leave a comment if you're so inclined :)


End file.
